Thomas Hammarberg is concerned about refugees' problems in North Ossetia and investigation of Beslan terror act

Today, North Ossetia saw a one-day visit of Thomas Hammarberg, Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe. He was interested in the fate of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) in North Ossetia, respect of human rights and investigation into the Beslan terror act.

In her opening word, Larissa Khabitsova, Chair of the Parliament of North Ossetia, thanked the guest for his attention and active participation in addressing the problems of the refugees, who had been affected by the tragic events of August 2008 in South Ossetia.

Having expressed his regret that this time, his visit would last for one day only, Thomas Hammarberg raised a number of problems before republic's authorities.

"I met IDPs for many times. The Council of Europe knows that these ethnic minorities have no integration problems in your country," said Thomas Hammarberg.

He asked to comment on the fact that "more than 2 years have elapsed after the Georgian attack; however, the people are still in North Ossetia."

According to Ms Khabitsova, the vast majority of refugees had returned to South Ossetia and help to restore their republic. About 600 persons are still in North Ossetia waiting till their houses are finished.

"The situation is much more complicated with refugees from internal regions of Georgia and from territories of the former Soviet Union. They have nowhere to return; and most of these families are in urgent need to solve their housing problem. We need an essential one-time financial donation for this purpose - the issuance of 2-3 housing certificates a year is of no help," said Larissa Khabitsova. "It is enough to look at the statistics: at the turn of the 1990s, more than 100,000 Ossetians were forced to leave Georgia."

Thomas Hammarberg was also interested in the situation with the interethnic understanding in the Prigorodny District and solution of the problem of return of the IDPs, who appeared after the armed conflict in 1992, to their earlier residences.

While speaking about the legal climate, Sergey Tabolov, Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic, gave an example of the Georgian school in Vladikavkaz, where the entire educational process is run in the Georgian language and which did not interrupt its work after the events of August 2008.

According to Mr Hammarberg, the investigation into the Beslan terror act is also important for the Council of Europe.

"The third point on my agenda is on the consequences of the Beslan terror act. As far as I know, the inquiry was held - and all the actions were conducted by the Federal Prosecutor's Office. Nevertheless, there's some protraction and I'd like to know your opinion regarding the existence of the need to give the General Public Prosecutor to understand that final conclusions should be made and reported to people," said the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe.